Mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) (sold under the trade names gray or white ProRoot® MTA (Dentsply International Inc., York, Pa., US) is a substance currently used in general dentistry and in endodontics to replace natural tooth material in apexification, pulp capping, pulpotomy, regenerative endodontics, root canal filling, root-end filling and root perforation repair. While mineral trioxide aggregate has proven to be biocompatible and suitable for these procedures, mineral trioxide aggregate disadvantageously takes approximately three hours to set. This extended time for setting usually requires a patient to return for a second visit to complete treatment increasing the cost and inconvenience of treatment. Further disadvantageously, irrigating the operative field before the mineral trioxide aggregate has set can evacuate some of the mineral trioxide aggregate thereby requiring an additional application of mineral trioxide aggregate.
Therefore, there is a need for a substance to replace natural tooth material that is not subject to these disadvantages.